A word about the "Nation..."

For those who think the passion of Red Sox fans is little more than a mirage, read this email from a friend of mine angry that Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia was left off one writer's American League most valuable player ballot... Mind you, Pedroia handily won the award.

Joined in progress: "... He does not really consider all the stats. He actually said he does not consider strikeouts in any way and pointed to Ryan Howard. Are you kidding me? He is trying to sell it by pointing to Pedroia's rank in OPS, BA/RISP, OPS/RISP, and RBIs. He is using Pedroia's rank with all MLB (not just AL), and is not comparing it to the other hitters he selected. It is meaningless. The worst thing is that on September 20, he wrote a column with Pedroia ranked 4th. The only changes he made to that ballot a week or two later was to switch Morneau and K-Rod (2 + 3), kick off Pedroia, and add Pena as 10. So what did Pedroia do in the end of September? Only hit .391. He needs to just take the heat without trying to justify his choice and let it fade away after a few days..."

Don't understand Red Sox Nation? Emails like this tell the story...

Fenway to Tampa: Drop Dead.

I understand that the Tampa area has a baseball team that's trying to get to the World Series. Well, that means, ahem, beating the Sox four times, not three. (See: Yankees, Indians.) Let's be honest: Did you really think the Sox would bow out quietly?

No more late nights this week...

Kudos to the Red Sox --- not only for advancing to the American League Championship Series, but for eschewing the need for Sox fans to stay up into the wee hours every single night. I'm sure some non-Sox fans are getting a little tired of the team's success. To that, I say this: